Bethlehem - Ma‘an - The Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) has issued a press release warning of a public health disaster in the northern Gaza Strip following the waste water flood on Tuesday.
PMRS reports that six people were killed in the flood of sewage, including two elderly women, two children and a teenage girl. PMRS also assured in its press release that 18 people were injured, and 11 people are still missing due to the flooding. At least 96 homes have been damaged or destroyed by the flood, and up to 300 families were forced from their homes, PMRS reports.
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, reported earlier that it had set up tents for over 150 displaced families, adding that the majority of the village‘s residents are UNRWA-registered refugees. PMRS adds that the UNRWA tents can house up to 800 people.
PMRS reports that its primary healthcare clinic, the only medical centre in the village of Um Nasser, was affected by the flooding of sewage on Tuesday, but has now been cleared and remains on 24-hour alert, providing primary healthcare services to those injured in the flood.
PMRS continues to assist with the rescue and relief operation along with UNRWA, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Islamic Relief and other agencies. Médécins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported earlier that it is providing the village with drinking water and tanks for potable water.
According to the PMRS press release, Dr Mohammed Yaghi, head doctor at the PMRS clinic in the village for five years, was overwhelmed with calls from patients when the flooding began, and started to receive cases at the clinic as soon as it had been cleared. Forty-six people have been treated at the clinic so far, the press release says.
Dr. Yaghi said, “This has been a tough day for everyone. It was particularly heartbreaking when an 11-month-old child whom I had treated at the clinic just two days before for a common cold, was found dead in his house along with his grandmother.”
PMRS reports that the tank, which overflowed on Tuesday morning, was originally built in 1976 to serve up to 50,000 inhabitants of north-eastern Gaza. Today, the total population served by the plant is now over 200,000.
PMRS says that the relocation of Bedouin communities to the village by the Palestinian Authority in 1995, in an attempt to prevent the encroachment of then–Israeli settlements into the area, further exacerbated the existing burden on the waste water treatment facility. In addition, a combination of overcrowding and poor planning meant that residential areas were built in close proximity to the plant, with one of the pools standing just 20 metres from the village.
PMRS recalls that local and international agencies have long warned of the environmental and health threats posed by the treatment plant. Construction of a new plant was planned east of Jabalia, yet a number of obstacles have prevented this plan from being realized including prohibitions by Israel of any works on the new site; a lack of funding due to Israel’s continued refusal to transfer tax monies collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority; and the prolonged closure of Gaza’s borders by Israel, preventing the entry of materials necessary for construction and repairs. PMRS recalls that, in 2006, the Rafah, Karni and Sufa crossings were open an average of just 57, 71 and 60 percent respectively in relation to the number of days they were due to open.
The plant was also badly affected during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip in June 2006, PMRS states, when the bombing of Gaza’s only domestic power plant meant that there was a lack of electricity to pump sewage from the pools. In addition, Israeli air strikes and artillery shelling damaged part of the plant, PMRS says, and repairs were prevented as the situation was too dangerous to allow workers to access the area.
PMRS warns that, as a result of this disaster, the risk of water-borne diseases has increased immeasurably. In addition, the local population is suffering from a lack of clean drinking water, and groundwater resources and land are becoming further polluted.
PMRS says that the villagers are in need of basic items such as toilets, mattresses, blankets, showers, baby milk, pampers, and hygiene kits. PMRS is also already experiencing a shortage of certain vaccines at its clinic, the press release states, including the MMR vaccine.
PMRS also warns that it expects the numbers of dead and injured to rise in the coming days.